Ex-Ohio AG takes federal consumer finance complaints online

CLEVELAND (AP) — A former Ohio attorney general has launched an online effort aimed at propping up the U.S. government’s beleaguered consumer finance watchdog agency.

Democrat Marc Dann is calling his database of consumer complaints filed with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in Washington “Scoundrels, Scams and Cheats.”

Dann says Cleveland-based DannLaw intends to use the Freedom of Information Act to keep the database current even if acting budget and bureau director Mick Mulvaney shields the government’s version as he’s suggested.

Dann said his firm is prepared to sue Mulvaney “monthly if need be.”

The financial industry was a frequent target of Dann’s before he resigned as attorney general in 2008 after a sexual harassment scandal.